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Congressional Gold Medal Recipient
Dr. Dorothy I. Height
Dorothy I. Height Receives Congressional Gold Medal
Dorothy Height was always in the middle of the civil rights photos, right beside
Martin Luther King Jr. or
Bobby Kennedy or
John Lewis. And when she was asked why, former labor secretary Alexis Herman told a jampacked Capitol Rotunda yesterday, she responded, "I learned to stand in the center so I wouldn't be elbowed out of the picture."
Nobody was elbowing her yesterday as Height received the
Congressional Gold Medal, the most distinguished form of recognition that Congress bestows on individuals. She sat beaming in her chair between President Bush and Speaker of the House
Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).
It was a dual celebration for Height, who also turned 92 yesterday.
" I've never had a birthday celebration like this," she told the crowd.
Bush praised Height for her "calming influence" but added, "Behind the grace, there's a will of steel." Indeed, he said, not only has she met with many past presidents, "She's told every president what she thinks since Dwight David Eisenhower." In her recent memoir "Open Wide the Freedom Gates," Height describes marching through Times Square in 1936 to protest lynchings, and standing onstage with King during his 1963 "
I Have a Dream" speech.
She was the only woman to work intimately with the "
Big Six," the group that brought the civil rights movement into the national consciousness. The six were King,
Whitney Young,
A. Philip Randolph,
James Farmer,
Roy Wilkins and Lewis, who's now a Democratic representative from Georgia.
At the ceremony,
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) called her the "Queen Mother of the civil rights movement," and
Rep Diane Watson (D-Calif.), who penned the legislation for the award, referred to her as the "grand dame of the civil rights movement."
But it wasn't all about her civil rights heroics. "You should consider yourself blessed if you tasted her sweet potato souffle," Herman said.
And
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) got one of the day's biggest rounds of applause when she declared, "Once again, Dr. Height is the best-dressed one in the entire room." Wearing a light blue suit and a signature colorful hat, Height smiled.
Height joins an eclectic crowd.
George Washington was the first recipient in 1776; other honorees include
Walt Disney,
Winston Churchill,
Jesse Owens,
Frank Sinatra and
Mother Teresa.
She still serves as chair and president emerita of the
National Council of Negro Women; she was president from 1957 to 1998.
In the audience along with members of Congress were D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro; comedian
Bill Cosby and wife Camille; and boxing magnate Don King.
The
Rev. Jesse Jackson gave the benediction at a post-ceremony reception at the Library of Congress. He commented to a reporter that the Bush administration has failed to meet with civil rights leaders.
" It's ironic that they're honoring a civil rights icon when they basically have a closed-door policy on civil rights," he said. "That is the agony of the day. That is the irony of the day."
Cosby delivered some gentle ribbing at the reception. "She's 92 years old and she's still got the same clothes on," he quipped. "If you look at her graduating class at NYU -- if they're still alive they don't know they are. Dorothy Height knows she's alive."
Height adds the gold medal to the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, which she received from
President Bill Clinton in 1994. In 1989, she also received both the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Freedom Medal and, from
President Ronald Reagan, the Citizens Medal Award.
" I keep them well protected," she said. 2004 The Washington Post Company
Remarks by President Bush at the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony Honoring Dr. Dorothy Height
Read another article about Dr. Dorothy Height
Remarks of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton at Dorothy I. Height Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony March 24, 2004
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House and Senate, ladies and gentlemen and especially friends, admirers and fans of the one and only Dr. Dorothy Height. We are here today to honor a truly great American, someone who has long been an inspiration of mine. Dating back to the first time I met her more than thirty years ago when she was in fact one of my bosses - on the Board of the Children's Defense Fund where I worked and then served on the board with
Marian Wright Edelman for many years. And just as in those long ago days, today once again, Dr Height is the best dressed woman in the entire room.
I have had few greater pleasures than the work I did on this resolution - going to my colleagues one by one to ask them to support this resolution and no one said "no". Person after person said "oh yes, I remember Dr. Height" or "I worked with Dr. Height" or "Dr. Height came to lobby me".
And it is fitting that it is a Wednesday because we do remember that during the height of the civil rights movement, it was Dr. Height who organized "Wednesdays in Mississippi". These meetings were meant to encourage dialogue and they included women, black and white, from the north and south - and under her tutelage and encouragement, these women reached a cross of barriers of race, beyond the segregation that they each had lived with, to find common ground. And it is fitting that we honor someone who has always sought that common ground. She broke a lot of barriers. She was one of the original "Big 6" civil rights leaders and the only woman. When the men sat down at the table, Dorothy Height was there. And I wish we could have all been in that room, flies on the wall as she spoke with Whitney Young, A. Phillip Randolph, Dr. Martin Luther King, James Farmer and Roy Wilkins. And in my conversations with many of you in this audience this afternoon, I know that her steady loving influence had a great impact on our march for equality in this nation.
She came to that out of a childhood and youth where she did see our nation divided. Where she saw many denied the opportunity to live up to their God given potential and she knew in her heart and soul, that our nation would be stronger if all God's children were given the chance to improve their lives and to seek their own dreams and to live up to their aspirations and so she set about to make that happen.
It reminds me of something she once said about children. With the same wisdom, clarity and understanding that has always defined her, Dr. Height said, "we've got to work to save our children and do it with full respect for the fact that if we do not, then no one else is going to do it". Dr. Height - you have helped people of all ages, especially children, to tackle the obstacles in life with that refrain "if we don't do it, no one else will".
So today we honor a hero. A hero of the civil rights movement, a hero of the women's movement, a hero on behalf of
African Americans and particularly the black family reunion movement, a woman who embodies everything that makes our nation great. We do this today in some small measure to thank you for a life of service and dedication and to recognize that we are all richer and better because Dr. Dorothy Height passed our way. God bless you.
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